Moanalua football

Vince Nihipali didn’t see a ton of Moanalua football last year, but what he saw impressed him. Nihipali, 47, will get a much closer look at Na Mehehune now that he is their new head football coach. “It’s pretty big for me,” Nihipali, who was a defensive coordinator for Mililani and Campbell, said by cellphone Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve coached all these years, basically doing defense. I did it for so long, I always wondered if I could go out and […]

Vince Nihipali is the new Moanalua football head coach, Na Menehune athletic director Joel Kawachi said Tuesday. >> CLICK HERE FOR OUR UPDATED STORY WITH COMMENTS FROM NIHIPALI Nihipali was Mililani’s defensive coordinator under Rod York for three seasons and was a defensive coordinator for Campbell before that. Nihipali takes over for the outgoing Savaii Eselu, who was hired as the tight ends coach at San Diego State. Moanalua went 10-2 last season and won its first OIA Division I […]

TEAM RECORD >> 10-2 overall, 6-0 OIA Division I HEAD COACH >> Savai’i Eselu is 27-16 in four seasons with Na Menehune KEY UNDERCLASSMEN IN 2019 >> OL MJ Javar, 5-8, 215, Jr.; OL/DL Maugaoutufao Tauiliili, 6-0, 240, So.; LB/DL Rodley Nelson Jr., 5-8, 190, Jr.; DB Gabriel Suka, 5-10, 145, Jr. MOANALUA THROUGH THE YEARS: 1973-2019 HISTORICAL EQUIVALENT: 2001 Aiea Siavii Eselu‘s Moanalua crew doesn’t lose much, but when it does it is a heartbreaker. The 2019 OIA champion […]

Moanalua quarterback RJ Javar is back in the saddle. After being hit and suffering a concussion in the OIA Division I championship game on Oct. 26, Javar has been slowly working his way back on the field under the watchful eyes of Na Menehune’s trainers. “He’s all set, all clear,” Moanalua coach Savaii Eselu said Tuesday. “Business as usual.” Javar scored a touchdown in that OIA title game and was hit on a helmet-to-helmet blow as he crossed the goal […]

There was barely enough time to breathe. The day after Moanalua’s epic win over Leilehua for the OIA Division I football title, Rudy Kealohi and Jansen York thought about the unusual, but satisfying close to the OIA season. With three weeks of rest and preparation ahead, Kealohi will be able to recover from his injury. >> CLICK HERE TO READ TODAY’S STAR-ADVERTISER FEATURE ON MOANALUA’S DYNAMIC DUO AT RECEIVER Moanalua’s quick-tempo, aerial-heavy offense has been quite the fit for the […]